The present invention relates to cooking devices and more particularly relates to oven type cookers which utilize hot, smoke laden air to cook and flavor food.
Smoked foods are typicaly produced by slowly cooking food in a smoke laden environment. This has long been accomplished by means of a fire or smoker inside a substantially closed container. The fact that undercooked and overcooked food was often produced in the same batch has generally been tolerated. The uneven cooking problem stems from the fact that airflow patterns inside the cooking device have often been left to chance, or at best airflow management inside the device has been given a secondary role.
The present invention focuses on the uneven cooking problem and provides means for circulating, means for directing, and means for baffling the hot, smoke laden air inside the housing so that a uniform horizontal flow pattern contacts food disposed for cooking inside the cooking chambers.
In accordance with the present invention, a smoker oven for smoking and cooking food by passing heated, smoke laden air by the food is provided. A housing has at least uppermost and lowermost cooking chambers configured to form a vertical stack in the housing. Heating means are provided for heating the air inside the housing, and smoking means generate smoke inside the housing. Means are provided for circulating heated, smoke laden air within the housing. Also, means are provided for directing the flow of circulating heated, smoke laden air within the housing. Also, means are provided for directing the flow of circulating air horizontally through each cooking chamber, passing the air through the uppermost and lowermost chambers in essentially opposite horizontal directions. Means are also provided for baffling the flow of air into each cooking chamber so that airflow is uniformly distributed through each cooking chamber.
The advantages and further aspects of the present invention will be readily appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.